U.S. patent number 9,292,031 [Application Number 13/973,463] was granted by the patent office on 2016-03-22 for household energy management system.
This patent grant is currently assigned to General Electric Company. The grantee listed for this patent is GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY. Invention is credited to Michael Thomas Beyerle, David C Bingham, Joseph Mark Brian, Jay Andrew Broniak.
United States Patent |
9,292,031 |
Beyerle , et al. |
March 22, 2016 |
**Please see images for:
( Certificate of Correction ) ** |
Household energy management system
Abstract
A household energy management system for managing multiple
appliances is provided. In an embodiment the system comprises a
controller for managing power consumption of multiple appliances
within a household; a utility meter for measuring an amount of
energy usage to a household, the utility meter communicating to the
controller a demand limit; and a user interface through which a
user can enter a parameter of energy usage. The controller
establishes a demand limit. A communication network connects the
controller to the utility meter and/or to a demand server. The
controller controls or operates the multiple appliances based cm
communications from at least one of the utility meter, the user
interface, and a demand server, such that the energy usage does not
exceed the established demand limit.
Inventors: |
Beyerle; Michael Thomas (Pewee
Valley, KY), Broniak; Jay Andrew (Louisville, KY), Brian;
Joseph Mark (Louisville, KY), Bingham; David C
(Louisville, KY) |
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY |
Schenectady |
NY |
US |
|
|
Assignee: |
General Electric Company
(Schenectady, NY)
|
Family
ID: |
45698251 |
Appl.
No.: |
13/973,463 |
Filed: |
August 22, 2013 |
Prior Publication Data
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Document
Identifier |
Publication Date |
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US 20130345891 A1 |
Dec 26, 2013 |
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Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
Issue Date |
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13042550 |
Mar 8, 2011 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06F
1/3203 (20130101); G05F 5/00 (20130101); H02J
3/12 (20130101); H02J 3/14 (20130101); Y04S
20/242 (20130101); Y04S 20/222 (20130101); Y04S
10/50 (20130101); Y04S 20/20 (20130101); H02J
2310/14 (20200101); Y02B 70/30 (20130101); G06Q
50/06 (20130101); Y02B 70/3225 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
G05F
5/00 (20060101); G06F 1/32 (20060101); G06Q
50/06 (20120101); H02J 3/14 (20060101); H02J
3/12 (20060101) |
Field of
Search: |
;700/9,11,28,286,291,295,297 ;702/64 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Rodriguez; Carlos Ortiz
Assistant Examiner: Norton; Jennifer L
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Dority & Manning, P.A.
Parent Case Text
CROSS-REFERENCE
This application is a divisional of co-pending U.S. application
Ser. No. 13/042,550, filed Mar. 8, 2011, which is hereby
incorporated by reference in its entirety.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A household energy management system for managing multiple
appliances, comprising: a controller configured to manage power
consumption of multiple appliances within a household; a utility
meter configured to measure an amount of energy usage to a
household, the utility meter communicating to the controller a
demand limit; a user interface through which a user can enter a
parameter of energy usage; a local generator configured to generate
local energy, wherein a supply limit is established based upon the
capacity of the local generator, and wherein the supply limit is a
maximum power level; a communication network which connects the
controller to at least one of: the utility meter, a local energy
storage device, the local generator, and a demand server; the
controller configured to operate the multiple appliances based on
communications from at least one of: the utility meter, the user
interface, the local generator, the local energy storage device and
the demand server, such that the energy usage does not exceed the
supply limit of the local generator, the controller configured to
predict when an energy demand rate from the multiple appliances
will exceed the local generator supply limit and to communicate the
prediction to a user, and the controller further configured to make
suggestions of possible modifications to the operation of the
multiple appliances to reduce the energy demand rate to below the
local generator supply limit, the suggestions including suggestions
as to which appliance to curtail, and to then calculate and present
to the user consumption rates based on the modifications.
2. The household energy management system of claim 1, wherein the
controller allocates energy to the multiple appliances and makes
suggestions of possible modifications based on at least one of the
following: the demand limit, a prioritization of each of the one or
more appliances, an energy need level of each of the multiple
appliances, and the supply limit.
3. The household energy management system of claim 1, wherein the
controller instructs one or more appliances to shed load on
demand.
4. The household energy management system of claim 3, wherein the
one or more appliances includes at least one of: household
lighting, a refrigerator, a washer, a dryer, a stove, an
oven/range, a microwave oven, a dishwasher, an HVAC system, a hot
water heater, and an electrical outlet load.
5. The household energy management system of claim 1, wherein the
local generator is selected from the group consisting of a wind
powered generator, a solar powered generator, a water powered
generator, and fuel powered generator.
6. A household energy management system managing multiple
appliances, comprising: a controller configured to manage power
consumption of multiple appliances within a household; a utility
meter configured to measure an amount of energy usage of a
household, the utility meter communicating to the controller a
demand limit; a user interface through which a user can enter a
parameter of energy usage, wherein the controller establishes a
demand limit; a communication network which connects the controller
to the utility meter and/or to a demand server; the controller
configured to control the multiple appliances based on
communications from at least one of: the utility meter, the user
interface, and the demand server, such that the energy usage does
not exceed the established demand limit; the controller configured
to predict when an energy demand rate from the multiple appliances
will exceed a local generator supply limit and to communicate the
prediction to a user, wherein the supply limit is a maximum power
level, and the controller further configured to make suggestions of
possible modifications to the operation of the multiple appliances
to reduce the energy demand rate to below the local generator
supply limit, the suggestions including suggestions as to which
appliance to curtail, and to then calculate and present to the user
consumption rates based on the modifications.
7. The household energy management system and method of claim 6,
wherein the controller allocates energy to the multiple appliances
and makes suggestions of possible modifications based on at least
one of the following: the demand limit, a prioritization of each of
the one or more appliances, an energy need level of each of the
multiple appliances, and a hierarchy of energy demand load
shedding.
8. The household energy management system of claim 6, wherein the
controller instructs one or more appliances to shed load on
demand.
9. The household energy management system of claim 8, wherein the
one or more appliances includes at least one of: household
lighting, a refrigerator, a washer, a dryer, a stove, an
oven/range, a microwave oven, a dishwasher, an HVAC system, a hot
water heater, and an electrical outlet load.
Description
BACKGROUND
Many power providers are currently experiencing a shortage of
electric generating capacity due to increasing consumer demand for
electricity. More specifically, generating plants are often unable
to meet peak power demands resulting from electricity demanded by
many consumers at the same time. In addition, consumers are looking
for was to manage, energy demands to minimize dependence on energy
supplied from a utility (i.e. the `electrical grid`).
In order to reduce high peak power demand, many power providers
have instituted time of use metering, and rates which include
higher rates for energy usage during on-peak times and lower rates
for energy usage during off-peak times. As a result, consumers are
provided with an incentive to use electricity at off-peak times
rather than on-peak times, look, for other `local` energy sources
for supplemental generation of energy, and/or establish a "do not
exceed" whole home energy consumption level.
Presently, to take advantage of the lower cost of electricity
during off-peak times, a user must manually operate appliances or
other electronic devices during the off-peak times. This is
undesirable because a consumer may not always be present in the
home, or awake, to operate the appliance, during off-peak hours.
This is also undesirable because the consumer is required to
manually track the current time to determine what hours are
off-peak and on-peak. Therefore, there is a need to provide a
system that facilitates operating appliances during off-peak hours
in order to reduce consumer's electric, bills and to reduce the
load on generating plants during on-peak hours. Additionally, there
is a need to provide a system that (in combination with the
aforementioned) incorporates a method for enlisting the generation
of energy at a `local` source that can be used to supplement or
replace energy generation from a utility or electrical grid. A cost
and amount of energy generation from the `local` source can be
compared against the cost and amount of energy supplied from a
utility, wherein a shifting of demand from one to the other can be
initiated based on predetermined criteria.
SUMMARY
In an embodiment of the invention, a household energy management
system is provided for managing multiple appliances. The system
comprises a controller for managing power consumption of multiple
appliances within a household; a utility meter for measuring an
amount of energy usage to a household, the utility meter
communicating to the controller a demand limit; a user interface
through which a user can enter a parameter of energy usage; and a
local generator for generating local energy. The capacity of the
local generator establishes a supply limit. The management system
further comprises a communication network connecting the controller
to at least one of the utility meter, the local energy storage
device, and a demand server. The controller controls or operates
the multiple appliances based on communications from at least one
of the utility meter, the user interface, the local generator, the
local, storage device, and the demand server, such that the energy
usage does not exceed the supply limit of the local generator.
In an embodiment of the invention, a household energy management
system for managing multiple appliances is provided. The system
comprises a controller for managing power consumption of multiple
appliances within a household; a utility meter for measuring an
amount of energy usage to a household, the utility meter
communicating to the controller a demand limit; and a user
interface through which a user can enter a parameter of energy
usage. The controller establishes a demand limit. A communication
network connects the controller to the utility meter and/or to a
demand server. The controller controls or operates the multiple
appliances based on communications from at least one of the utility
meter, the user interface, and a demand server, such that the
energy usage does not exceed the established demand limit.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a home energy manager; and,
FIG. 2 is a diagram displaying energy demand wherein a whole home
consumption can be maintained at or below a specified value.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
The present disclosure encompasses an energy management system that
may be used with an appliance, and/or a household of appliances,
energized by a local energy generator that supplements the energy
supplied by the utility, in order to reduce household, electricity
costs and also to reduce the load on generating plants during all
hours of electricity usage. The energy management system is
applicable to, and can be used in conjunction with, any and all
types of household appliance(s)/device(s) such as a dryer, a
washing machine, a dishwasher, an oven, a refrigerator, HVAC
etc.
In one embodiment, the energy management system may include a user
interface, a time keeping mechanism, and a mode selecting device.
The user interface may be any type of interface such as a touch
screen, knobs, sliders, buttons, speech recognition, etc, to allow
a user to input a schedule of on-peak times or schedules and
off-peak times or schedules for each day of the week. The schedule
of on-peak times and off-peak times for a household may typically
be obtained from a generating plant or power utility that services
the household. The schedule may be obtained from published tables
made available to the public or other means such as billing
statements. If the schedule of times changes, the user may use the
user interface to alter and update the schedule that was previously
entered.
The terms on-peak and off-peak, as used herein are meant to
encompass time periods that an energy supplier has designated as
referring to periods of high energy demand or cost and periods of
low energy demand or cost, respectively. It may be that in some
situations, multiple levels are designated by the energy supplier
and thus on-peak is meant to refer to those periods where the
energy demand or cost is greater than some other period, with the
other period, being referred to as off-peak. In any given
situation, on-peak may not be the highest level of cost or energy
demand and off-peak may not be the lowest level of cost or energy
demand.
The energy management system can also include a time keeping
mechanism (not shown) that provides information to the appliance
and user regarding the current time of the day. In one embodiment,
the time keeping mechanism also includes a calendar function to
provide information regarding the day of the week and the current
date. The current time and date may be input or adjusted by the
user via controls on the time keeping mechanism.
Utility companies are starting to develop sliding rate scales based
upon time of use for power consumption. A home that can manage a
response to a different rate schedule will have an advantage in the
marketplace. A time of day (TOD) import to the appliances will
allow the unit to run at times, on more occasions, and/or during
more periods when utility rates are low or off-peak. The time of
day input can be manually entered or automatically received by the
appliances (an example of automatic updating would be using a radio
wave or radio clock to sync to an atomic clock signal). The time of
day feature or off-peak manager can effectively save the consumer
money by running the appliances according to a pre-determined
schedule, i.e. predominantly, when the rates are lower.
Additionally, a home that can maintain a predetermined and
consistent energy demand on the utility will also have an advantage
in the marketplace. In this manner, the home can maintain a "do not
exceed" energy demand level which results in a predetermined demand
on the utility that does not contribute to the peak demand periods.
To be described in more detail hereinafter, the energy management
system can also provide a local energy source to substitute,
apportion, or supplement energy generation for whole home
consumption.
In addition to the aforementioned, the mode selecting device allows
the user to select an energy management mode. The mode selecting
device may be a single button such that the energy management mode
is selected when the button is depressed. Alternatively, the mode
selecting device may also be two separate buttons, a switch, a
touch panel, or any other type of device that allows for selection
of the energy management mode. Although the control panel, the user
interface, the time keeping mechanism and the mode selecting device
(not illustrated) can be four separate elements, each of these
elements, or any combination thereof, may alternatively be
incorporated into a single interface or display to provide for ease
of use.
The present disclosure utilizes a series of algorithms in a home
energy manager or controller 20 to control and adjust home energy
demand in order to keep the total home energy consumption below a
user defined value. It is to be appreciated that the user defined
value can correspond to the energy supply capacity of a local
energy source (i.e. resident generator, solar, wind, et al.) or can
correspond to a predetermined limit value. In this manner, the
algorithm may enable the appliances to only consume what is being
generated from the local energy source so as to eliminate or
minimize the energy demand on the utility. Alternatively, the
demand on the utility can be controlled or maintained, within
certain predefined levels.
The present disclosure provides a system and method for
coordinating a suite of demand response appliances that are capable
of responding to incoming signals that calls for a "load shedding
or load control" event. In addition to the appliances that are
demand response ready, the home energy manager system can provide
feedback to the user regarding the performance of the appliances
through home usage data. The user will be able to monitor and/or
modify the appliance responses as well as get real time feedback as
to the energy consumption of the appliances. For electrical
devices, the system controller is configured to characterize the
power consumption of the appliances at any given point using
appliance data from current transducers, shunts, meter pinging, or
lookup tables.
Referring to FIG. 1, the present disclosure provides a system 10
and method of providing information to the system controller, (HEM)
20 from a local energy generator (via generator usage data 32)
wherein the HEM 20 can control (i.e. load control 33) the generator
to optimize the overall energy usage. The generator 24 can be used
in several ways to optimize the energy usage within a home 22. For
example, the generator 24 can be automatically started and the home
22 can be taken of the utility grid using switch circuits. For
example, a switch circuit can be used as an isolation circuit in
order to isolate the energy demand to the local energy generator
during specific grid loading or price points, or for a majority of
the time. In another embodiment, a method is provided for managing
energy usage of a plurality of appliances wherein managing energy
can include managing the energy consumption of the plurality of
appliances in order to not exceed the capacity of the local energy
generator 24 (i.e. load control the appliances 31). The method can
comprise receiving an energy output supply level and scheduling
and/or load shaving the plurality of appliances such that the
demand does not exceed the energy output supply level.
As described above, the control algorithm allows the HEM 20 to
adjust appliance and non-smart appliance associated electrical
outlet load behavior in order to keep the total home energy
consumption below a user defined value. This feature can be used in
conjunction with, for example, a home solar or wind generation
system so that the home only consumes what is being generated from
the solar/wind system and thus, is not purchasing electricity from
the utility (i.e. grid).
In addition to the above, control of the total home energy
consumption can also be applied to those home energy management
systems that receive demand response (pricing and load control)
events from a utility 21. The HEM can manage the whole home
consumption to a user defined or "do not exceed" value for each
demand response event.
The HEM 20 can communicate wirelessly with a smart meter or other
ESI (Energy Services Interface), all networked appliances, and
programmable load switches (a 120V or 240V outlet that contains
line interrupt switch(es) that can be turned on or off by means of
a wireless signal). The HEM 20 receives current power consumption
information from each of these networked devices and thus can
calculate the entire home's energy consumption 34 as well as the
breakdown by appliance/load (FIG. 2).
Within the graphical user interface (GUI) of the HEM, exists an
option screen for managing to a peak load (not shown). This screen
contains a field for entering the max kW value, i.e. `do not
exceed` energy demand or limit value 35, to keep the home's energy
demand at or below said value 35. Below that field exists a list of
all networked devices were the homeowner can set a hierarchy for
the order in which the HEM is to disable, suspend, or reduce the
devices' functions (these options are based on appliance/load). The
user can also disable this option for a particular networked
device.
Once the load limiting or demand response mode is enabled, the HEM
will then monitor the home consumption and adjust the network
devices (per the hierarchy list) in order to keep the home under
the "do not exceed" value. A communication network can connect the
controller to one or more of the utility meter, a local energy
storage device (i.e. battery storage device), the local energy
generator, and/or a demand server. The controller controls or
operates the multiple appliances based on communications from one
or more of the utility meter, the user interface, the local energy
generator, the local energy storage device and/or the demand server
such that the energy usage does not exceed the supply limit of the
local generator.
An example of a load limiting algorithm is described below. The
user can set the maximum kW value (i.e. a `do not exceed` total
energy demand) to 4 kW (for example). One exemplary hierarchy table
can be set as follows: first--dryer, second--refrigerator;
third--pool pump; fourth--washer; fifth--dishwasher;
sixth--basement electrical outlet; do not modify--range; and, do
not modify--living room electrical outlet. If and when the home
begins to consume more than 4 kW of total energy, the HEM will
first pause the dryer and then perform a check on the total energy
demand. If the energy demand is still above the maximum kW value,
the HEM will step down through the list of loads as follows:
secondly set back the refrigerator setpoints; thirdly stop the pool
pump; fourthly pause the washer; etc., until the home's total kW
energy demand is below 4 kW. Once the energy demand drops back
below 4 kW (with a certain amount of margin), the HEM can begin to
re-enable each of the devices on the hierarchy list.
Energy consumption rates can be monitored on a real time basis to
determine the load on the local energy generator or utility. The
HEM system can make suggestions as to which loads to curtail, per
the hierarchy, and then recalculate the consumption rates based on
the new and modified load. The HEM can present the user with
information showing the consumption rates and the prioritization of
the devices in the order of the established hierarchy. The system
can continually and automatically control loads 31, 33 to prevent
exceeding the energy demands on the local, energy generator or
utility using a priority curtailment scheme. Likewise, the system
10 could predict when the energy demand will exceed the local
energy generator supply output. The system 10 can provide this
information to the user which would then allow the user to modify
the load control 33 to conserve energy and make suggestions to the
user to modify or curtail appliance loads to minimize the energy
demands. Either the HEM or a smart appliance could look at commands
to other devices and respond to those.
The aforementioned algorithm takes the low-level details of home
energy management out of the consumer's hands. If the consumer
wants to only run their home off a generation system (such as solar
or wind) this algorithm will manage loads ensuring the entire house
is run off the generation source instead of purchasing electricity
from the utility. This in to saves the consumer money and also
helps reduce the peak load on the electrical grid.
While various embodiments of the application have been described,
it will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that many
more embodiments and implementations are possible that are within
the scope of this invention. Accordingly, the invention is not to
be restricted except in light of the attached claims and their
equivalents.
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